Monthly Archives: May 2016

THE WEEK

I’m excitedly gearing up for a nice, long holiday weekend here and looking forward to no traveling and no real plans which is so nice for a change. What about you?

Over the weekend, I finally had the chance to visit Pine Street Market but it was much too busy to snap any new photos — if you’re visiting Portland this summer, definitely add it to your list! There are so many great local food choices inside.

The highlight of my week was going out to lunch with my grandparents. As they’re each nearing 90 and have had health scares over the last year, I know it’s important to make time to catch up with them. Sometimes I get on the phone with my grandma and an hour will fly by — her stories are legendary. Can you believe they’re on the verge of celebrating their 67th wedding anniversary?!

I’m going to sign off for the weekend and relax! Hope you have a great one and enjoy the links below!

Photos: 1. I’m obsessed with this Elle cover featuring Bella Hadid. So striking and beautiful! 2. The beauty of having my own hangout room at home is…that I can kick my feet up on the coffee table whenever I want! 3. I love this type. 4. The basics: good reading and a cozy blanket.

When most of us think of self-initiated projects, branding for imaginary companies come to mind — maybe you’ve built out a visual system for your dream client to round out the mix in your portfolio. This was always my focus when I worked on self-initiated projects but there’s another option.

Creating a series around a specific theme that is produced on a longer term basis can can be even more beneficial because it has the ability to grow your audience and get tons of fresh eyes on your work.

Self-initiated projects are great because as they evolve, they give your audience a reason to check in regularly. Even better, they give people a reason to share your work because there’s nothing cooler than seeing a themed body of work grow week after week.

Another benefit of longer term self-initiated projects is that they clearly demonstrate a sense of consistency. You’re showing up, putting in the work and over time, your audience will take notice which in turn, will hopefully grow your freelance clientele.

5 Self-Initiated Project Examples

If you need a starting place, here are five awesome examples to get your creative juices flowing:

I’m a super fan of digital mood boards and first learned about Jess’ work by clicking on one of her beautifully composed collages on Pinterest. This series shows off her eye for design and flair for color.

I followed this project a few years ago and it was so interesting to see how the name or location of a lake could provoke a unique, branded outcome. This project was great because it showed Nicole’s breadth of branding ideas through simple concepts.

This self-initiated project helped launch Jessica’s career. She posted a new letter each day or so, created in an ornate style that showed off her love of hand lettering. She’s since illustrated everything from postage stamps to best-selling book covers.

Another daily poster project, this was created by a design student in India as a way to explore his love of typography. I love the simple, editorial-inspired style of this series.

Go Forth And Create!

When you think about it, the ideas for these types of projects are endless. You could create a series of book covers, artwork for your favorite albums, t-shirt designs, perfume labels, logos for makeup brands or even a collection of stamps.

It’s always great to tie these projects into a personal passion so you have that extra creative spark as the series continues on.

P.S. If you decide to create a long term self-initiated project (or already have!), let us know in the comments!

I’m exploring a new style direction right now that’s a mash-up of a bunch of different influences — it’s a dash of Desperado, a dash of French with jaunty ribbons from fashion houses worn as chokers, a dash of modern cowgirl (I’m always on the lookout for more western-inspired pointy boots and cool belts) and a dash of avant garde with streamlined, modern black clothing.

This new direction came directly from the inspiration I felt during a recent vacation in Vegas. It sprung from a combination of the hot weather, visiting Red Rock Canyon for the first time, five solid days spent dressing up with best friends and stopping into shops to pick up a few new things along the way including a big, black brimmed hat.

For me, style directions are a way to explore creativity in a new way — instead of sitting behind the computer designing, I’m encouraged to dig through my wardrobe and pull together combinations of things that I may have forgotten about and give them a new life. It’s an excuse to have an adventure with getting dressed instead of reaching for the same old uniform of a leather jacket, sneakers, skinny jeans and t-shirt.

Most directions I’m inspired by start off with one point of inspiration and evolve from there. I love looking back to see how it all comes together. Maybe it’s partially based on a particular purchase or maybe it stems from the style you spot on a musician or the colors from a piece of art.

Mine started with needing a hat to wear by the pool in the very harsh Vegas sun. Then, I grabbed a black bodysuit at Urban Outfitters when I forgot to pack enough black shirts. Then, Gala had the idea to wear the ribbons from our shopping splurges as chokers.

P.S. The best part about the pink backdrop with roses is that it was a happy accident. My brother set it up in our dining room to shoot a country band that was touring through Portland and when they couldn’t make it at the last minute, I convinced him to leave it up!

THE WEEK

How was your week? Mine was a blur of meetings, calls, dinners with family and Skype dates with best friends — which is why all my blog posts I’d had planned…are going live today! Woohoo!

Things are good but I’ve been feeling worn down and knew cutting out of work early was necessary yesterday. After catching up with my mom and aunt, I promptly tucked myself into bed at 8 pm and it was the BEST THING EVER. Why is sleep impossible to catch up on as an adult?! I remember all those summer vacations from my childhood filled with endless hours of boredom and had no idea how truly great that was! Haha.

Let’s take things way back to the 90s for a second — did you drink Italian sodas as a kid? I remember going on vacation with my parents and when they’d order a latte at the espresso stand, I’d always try a new flavor. I’d totally forgot they’d existed until spotting one at my local coffee shop a few days ago. So simple and so good.

This is my favorite look right now. Excuse the weird angle, I couldn’t get the full PARIS in any other way I tried! It’s from Forever 21 and I’ve been wearing it with a ribbon tied around my neck — this one is Giuseppe Zanotti who has the best signature around. I want handwriting like that! Anyway, I was texting Gala about our new ribbon obsession and thought…maybe it’s a bit reminiscent of Colonel Sanders? The ultimate fashion icon! 😉

I’m off to wrap up a few projects before heading out for the weekend and I hope you have a good one! xo

THE LINKS

• If you only have time to read one post this week, make it this one, all about fame and fortune. It’s such a great reality check.

I mentioned last week that friendship has been at the forefront of my mind recently because I spent 5 solid days with twowomen I’m so close with that we could easily be sisters. We had zero fights and so much fun together that I was hugging them a little too tightly when they left (not sorry!) and wishing we had another 5 days together.

My backstory is that I grew up with a brother (we’re so close that we own a house together) and all boy cousins until I was about 10 so I rarely played with makeup or did so-called girly things. My summers were spent watching WWF wresting and building forts and my childhood idol was Mr. T just to give you an idea of what a tomboy I was. While that made me tough and good with putting up with boy antics (haha), I now realize that having relationships with other women is so important.

As an adult, having that component of female friendship in my life and experiencing firsthand what a difference it has personally made with everything from staying positive to achieving goals to feeling support during difficult times made me wonder how you guys feel about friendship.

Friendship is something most of us long to have in our lives but even if you’re lucky enough to be overflowing with close friends, there tends to be some complications:

• Maybe you’ve had a tight-knit group of friends since childhood but due to growing and evolving, your common interests have changed and you’ve grown apart.

• Maybe your best friends live in a different city, state or country (my biggest issue).

• Maybe you had a falling out with the friend you were closest with and have issues with trust.

• Or, maybe you’re a bit of a lone wolf and choose to go it alone…but secretly wish you had someone who gets you and accepts you exactly for who you are.

I have a handful of close friends in Portland (what’s up, Pam, Joey and Erik?!) but the rest of my friends are scattered far and wide. Gala and Bianca live in New York while Star lives in San Francisco and Mary Bee lives in LA. All of these friends are amazing — and we always pick back up right where we left off, even if we haven’t spoken for 6 months. Life gets busy but we don’t miss a beat. One coffee date and a few hours later and it’s like we were never apart.

I also have a wonderful husband, pets and family members to keep me occupied but occasionally, those lonely feelings do hit. A text message or phone call isn’t quite the same and I sometimes wish all my friends lived in the same city as I do. Now, that would be fun!

Let’s be honest, though — finding friends who “get” you and your eccentricities as an adult can be hard. The truth is that I was only able to find my core tribe (and meet all of you!) through blogging and that’s easily been the most rewarding thing that’s come out of sharing in this space.

Nice to meet you!

I'm Shauna, a graphic designer and entrepreneur. I spend my days as the Creative Director of Branch, a boutique design studio. This is my personal blog, which has been going strong since 2007. I'm obsessed with shoes, squirrels and traveling. Read more…

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If have a design question or you're itching for advice in your college education or creative career, please drop me a line at: advice@nubbytwiglet.com.

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